Predator and Prey Prowlers 3 by Christopher Golden Read Free Book Online Page A

families with small children there, a rainbow of umbrellas scattered across the sand.
    Jack and Molly had settled on the other side, where the surf was high and the water was almost always cold. The beach was crowded, but they had managed to find a decent spot.
    That had been four hours ago.
    Now he lay on his stomach on a towel in the shade of the umbrella and enjoyed the heat and the almost tropical breeze. Voices shouted nearby, children screeching as they splashed. Where the tide had receded and left the sand damp, teenagers played Frisbee and fathers flew kites with their children.
    Jack had not been so relaxed in what seemed like forever. He was dimly aware of his book still clutched in one hand. Molly lay on her towel only a few feet away. With his eyes slitted open he could see her propped up on her side, facing him, watching the people on the beach, a bottle of cold spring water in her hand. Molly seemed pensive.
    “Surrender,” Jack said, his voice raspy from lack of use.
    She glanced over, obviously surprised to hear from him. “What?”
    “Surrender,” he repeated. “How often do we get to do something like this? Just relax and do nothing at all? But at the moment your mind is somewhere else. I’ve gotta say, that seems pretty criminal to me.”
    A lopsided grin spread across her features. “Sorry. I’ll try to reach the nirvana that you’re in.”
    “You’d love it here,” Jack told her, his smile a mirror of hers. “So you going to tell me what’s on your mind?”
    “College.”
    “Ah,” Jack said with a tiny, sage nod. “A lot of new responsibilities. Big changes. Not that I have any idea what I’m talking about. I’m just repeating what I’ve heard.”
    “Do you ever regret not going?”
    He rolled over on his side. “Never thought about it much, to be honest. I know, that’s weird, right? Maybe I should. But I guess I always figured I shouldn’t lose any sleep over something that was so out of my control. The pub’s a lot of work.”
    “Courtney would have managed,” Molly reasoned. “Hired more staff. I’m sure she would have done whatever it took to make it happen if you had wanted to go.”
    “I guess,” Jack allowed. “But maybe I really didn’t want to go. She’s the only family I’ve got, you know? She always stuck by me so I did the same for her. Plus, it was my mother’s place.” He paused and studied her. “You’re lucky, y’know? Okay, it sucks that you don’t have any financial support from family, but you can go as far as that brain’ll take you. Nothing holding you back.”
    “You think of the pub as having held you back?”
    Jack shook his head. “No. Of course not. It just narrowed my options, that’s all. It was my decision. I just had to figure out what my real priorities were. You know what I mean?”
    “I think I do,” she said, and a thin smile appeared on her face. “You make it sound so easy.”
    Jack frowned and studied her. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”
    “Me? No,” Molly replied, dismissing the question out of hand.
    Though he wanted only the best for her, Jack could not help being a bit disappointed. The truth was, he wanted her to have second thoughts.
    Again, Molly seemed to drift off, lost in thought. She tipped her water bottle up and took a long swig. A radio played an ancient Eagles song a couple of encampments away.
    “Want to go in for another swim?” Molly asked.
    “Maybe in a little bit.” He closed his eyes and lay his head down again, enjoying the breeze and the shouts and the comfort of the heat and sand. Which was when Molly poured the cold water all over his back. Jack let out a shout as he leaped up.
    “You’re evil!”
    “Well, come and get me, then!” she said, and took off down the sand toward the water.
    Jack gave chase, and though he fully intended to get her back for the shock of that cold water, he was happy to see that she had shaken loose whatever thoughts had been bothering